As a creator, you have to realize that you're doing more than just creating a book. You're creating a brand, and everything that you create will be a part of that brand.

You don't have to be pigeon-holed as a creator. Even though Stephen King is known as a horror writer, he's written other things. (I would posit that parts of The Gunslinger story are more science fiction than actual horror.) However, whenever you think of Stephen King, you think of horror.

Brian Bendis started out a bit pigeon-holed as a crime writer. Torso, Goldfish, Jinx, Sam & Twitch...these were all crime comics that he either owned or wrote for someone else. Even Powers is a crime book within the trappings of superheroes. He didn't really step out of that until Ultimate Spider-Man, which saw his name rise in comic fandom. He escaped being known as a crime writer and moved on to superheroes. He expanded his brand.

Robert Kirkman may be known for The Walking Dead, but he also writes Invincible, and before that (as well as concurrent to them), he wrote superhero comics for Marvel, and wrote other comics for his own production company.

As you create, be cognizant of what you're creating. What you put out into the world will affect your brand.

John Lees wrote his love letter to comics in the form of The Standard. He followed that up with And Then Emily Was Gone and then Oxymoron: The Loveliest Nightmare. He's got other things up his sleeve, but I also happen to know for a fact that he's got a heartwarming story about a boy and his dog that I keep pushing him to publish. John isn't a superhero writer or a horror writer—he's a damned good writer who can work in different genres. The brand he's building is that of a quality creator, which is a brand we should all be aspiring to.

Take a look at your work, past and present, then answer this question: